Style • Play • Every day

Hi. We are a design/style LA based company specializing in mixing eclectic styles on moderate budgets. Also we have a strange amount of fun blogging about all our design and style adventures. Right now I’m happy to say that I’m Target’s home spokesperson, bringing accessible/stylish design to the masses.

Good Housekeeping

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Maybe you’re someone blessed/cursed with built-in shelves in your home. Or maybe you’re someone that can’t throw a book away. Or worse yet, an object hoarder in need of shelving to house your collection of vintage baby doll heads. Either way, making the shelving in your house look pulled together, interesting and stylish is challenging and poorly styled shelves are a problem riddling America. In the book, STYLED, the secret to styling the shelves (as well as every single surface or piece of furniture in your house) is outlined and the daunting tasks of making your home look pulled together and beautiful is broken down in very manageable ways.

Here are three steps to styling shelves so they look as interesting and pulled together as you are. Before you begin there are some universal rules to styling any surface or room in your house that I need to go over: 1.) Have a clear consistent color palette and 2.) Edit out what you don’t need or like. That sounds obvious but it’s not. If your pieces aren’t a.) Functional, b.) Sentimental or c.) Beautiful then please hand those suckers down or donate them. That’s just a universal rule for the styling of any surface (and one that I expound on in the book).

1. Start with your books – maybe it’s only a few books (like this) or a library full of dusty old novels. Stack them both vertically and horizontally and pepper the colors around evenly for a more collected, yet pulled together look. In other words don’t throw all your darker books in one corner and your lighter books in another UNLESS you are doing that color coding thing which is more for a proper bookshelf, less for a collection of pieces and objects like this.

2. Add art – Not all shelving can house art but if it can, DO IT. Incorporating art into your shelves does some really good things: 1.) It adds personality, obviously, as art is one of those purchases that we make based on what we like, not based on function. 2.) It draws your eye to the back of the shelf, thus making it look deeper and bigger and creating a sense of layering. 3.) It takes up a lot of visual real estate that is otherwise hard to fill with smaller objects.

3. Mix it up – This is where you add all your pretty things – your objects, sculptures, vessels, collections and even lighting. Mix up the textures, sizes, styles and tones but stay within that color palette so it doesn’t look like a thrift store.

A lot of people don’t know where to start when decorating their own home, so in the book, STYLED, I break down the smaller concepts, each vignette, each art wall and if you read the book and implement the ideas you will, someday soon, look around and magically (it will seem) your home will have come together to look like the best version of your personality possible.

You didn’t think we could go a whole post without a GIF did you. For your viewing pleasure:

Now get out there and get to work. In just a few tips you will have a whole new bookshelf – dusting not included. If you need more convincing on why you should buy the book: Watch this quick video:

Nerdiest comment ever: I was listening to Backstory’s episode on the history of advertising of advertising in America. Apparently the increased presence of built-in bookshelves in American homes can be attributed to Edward Bernays (nephew of Sigmund Freud). Bernays’ was tasked with advertising books, so he met with leading architects and convicted them to include bookshelves in their designs, which would inspire Americans to fill their selves by buying more books.
I thought this was really cool and kinda meta when you consider (1) this is a blog, which sometimes advertises things (2) the blog is about design, and (3) the post is designed to promote a book (that I’m sure is awesome).

I was just dusting my bookshelves and thinking about rearranging, ie., styling them when I came upon your timely blog. Thx for yet more inspiration, Emily! And I’m thrilled to hear about Elliot’s arrival; you all must be sooo happy she’s here!!! Congrats to the entire Henderson family!

I received your book as a birthday present from my husband and proceeded to read it cover to cover in one sitting.
I loved every quirky joke, beautiful picture and helpful styling trick.
Thank you for writing it! And thank you for helping to make households across the US more beautified one vignette at a time. 😉

Off topic but I wonder if you could show an up close photo of that string art piece on the top shelf? I know it is a vintage piece and I have searched for instructions on making one but no dice. If I could see it up really close in a future post somehow I would really appreciate it! 🙂

I love your blog and read it regularly. I’m also a buyer of books — especially style/decorating/coffee table books. I want to say this as kindly as possible, but I’m probably not going to buy your book just because of all of the promotion of it on your blog. A few references to it would have been so appropriate, but it’s gone way over the top and seems so self serving. Less is better and much more tasteful.

What can I say more than…brilliant? :) I think you have a magic stick in your hand to know all these things ….and the final result is amazing. The way you thought at step two: “It draws your eye to the back of the shelf, thus making it look deeper and bigger and creating a sense of layering” … you’re definitely right. Thanks for the post and for sharing with us these tricks and tips, they are so helpful.
I see that you are interested in interior design, that’s why I would like to invite you to explore our rug world here: http://www.sukhirugs.com/ . You’ll quickly find that a Sukhi carpet is quite unlike anything else. What do you think about them? 🙂

Hello!

Emily is a stylist, author and T.V. host with a strong commitment to vintage inspired approachable home style for every single person. Perfection is boring; Let’s get weird. learn more

Interior Design Blog by Emily Henderson

I started this interior design blog in 2010 as a journal of my style and home projects with the belief that design should be approachable, informational and accessible no matter what budget.

As a home style expert who has a strong commitment to peeling back the intimidating layers of the world of home decor, and showing how every person can have a beautiful home that represents their personality, no matter what the budget.

After styling for magazines and catalogues for years, I started my own interior design blog, won HGTV Design Star, and have gone on to host my own hit TV show Secrets from a Stylist, Author the book STYLED, and create the design firm Emily Henderson Design.

My motto has always been to write and publish on my blog what I personally want to read about.

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